Volume 3: Chapter 010: Thor: Weak to That Scent
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
“Oh? You’re here… how unexpected.”
“What are you trying to say?”
I think Makia thought I would not be able to come for dinner today due to what happened this morning. Maybe that was why she looked so nonplused when I called her from the garden.
“I can’t believe you’re hanging out in the garden in this shitty cold weather. Though, I guess you must like it…” she mused.
“Just let me in, it’s damned cold…”
“You always said you’re good with the cold, but that’s just you acting cool…”
As Makia looked down at me from the top steps, I realised once again just how different she was from the princess.
“My, Tooru, you’re rather late,” said another voice.
“Oh, you’re here too, Yuri? Is it alright to leave your little waifu alone?”
“Well, I thought it would be nice to have dinner with friends once in a while,” the smile sat a little uncomfortably on Ulysses’s face.
What’s with that?
“You’ll be heading off to the Holy Nation after this, right? Well, it must be tough being a commuting husband… go ahead and explode~”
Even though she said that Makia looked really happy to see the three of us together after all this time.
We sat at the table and, after we rang the bell, the servants waiting outside brought the food in. Tonight’s main course was Roast Duck with Rosemary. As it was brought in, a wonderful smell began to fill the room.
As always, Makia’s eyes shone at the sight of the food.
I was pretty hungry that evening, and ended up eating as much as Makia.
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“Wait, so you’re telling me that Lulubeth is a yandere?” Ulysses said after hearing my report about Princess Lulubeth’s attitude.
[1] ‘Yandere’ is a good enough term to explain Princess Lulubeth’s behaviour, with her stalker-ish, clingy and downright criminal behaviour.We were having a little after-dinner tea, over which I told them about my harrowing day.
Ulysses looked confused with his wide eyes and tilted head, “No, that can’t be. I told you before, Lulu’s a real nice kid. Since she had been isolated in the North Wing since she was young. I remember occasionally sneaking her out to play now and then.”
“So, you know about Princess Lulu’s condition?”
“Well, I guess…”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I demanded.
“Well, I mean, I never thought anything like that would happen… sorry…” [2] Ulysses sighed and said, “Maybe I didn’t notice anything since we didn’t get much opportunity to talk since she got back…”
“Well, you had been spending most of your time chasing after your new little wife,” [2] Makia smirked.
“That’s… wait, no, you’re such a tease, Maki-chan~!”
Then, with a somewhat cocky grin on his face, he downed his tea and took a deep breath.
“Well, time for me to go!”
And he was gone. [2]
“… …”
“What.”
Seriously, what’s with that guy? First, he refused to have anything to do with the Shrine Maiden, after that, he ran around blushing all over the place while I had to deal with his yandere sister.
All this while, Makia was snickering on the side.
“Hey, you looked like you’re having too much fun,” I grumbled.
“[2] I’m just glad that Ulysses and Percelis have worked things out. There had been too many things that happened between them. I want them to be happy together this time, maybe even stay together forever.”
“Oh? And here I thought you’d be jealous.”
“I’m not that narrow-minded. Are you trying to poke fun at me?”
“No really…” [2] I said as I sipped my tea, conveniently breaking eye contact with Makia and thus breaking this line of questioning.
As expected, this place is quite calming.
“Say, Makia. Is there anything you want?”
“Such a direct question. If it’s about my birthday, I already told you that I don’t need anything,” she said.
Well, since she said it, it must be true.
“Still, I’ll be glad to have you be there for my birthday. After this morning’s incident, I was starting to think that you might not be able to make it.”
“No way! I mean, that is…”
“What’s with that uncertain reply?” She asked with a huff as she got up from her seat.
Have I offended her somehow?
She was moving towards the dresser and peered into the mirror once. Then, she took off her earrings.
Or tried to.
“Ugh, these fancy earrings are really no good. My ears hurt, ouch, ouch! The fancy bits got stuck in my hair!”
[2] I quickly moved over to help.“Here, let me try.”
“Look, my hair got stuck on the metal bits.”
“If it’s so troublesome, just don’t wear any. Is there a reason why you have to wear them?”
“If only, but I can’t do that. Especially not in the palace. I’m already a young girl. If I don’t at least put up an appearance, others will look down on me.”
“[2] It’s tough being a woman. Look, hold your hair down here,” I said.
Makia moved her arm where I indicated and grabbed hold of her hair. Then, I held the earring firmly and tried my best to slowly remove it.
“Ow, hey! Don’t pull on it!”
“Sorry, sorry,”
[2] Tears were welling up in her eyes. Looks like I still managed to accidentally hurt her while trying to get rid of the earring.“That half-hearted way of tugging at the hair is super painful, you know?”
“I said I was sorry.”
“If you’re going to damage my hair, I’d rather just cut out that thing with scissors.”
“Wait, I thought hair is like life to women?”
“What’s with that old wives’ tale?”
The manly Makia then grabbed a pair of scissors from the dresser and was just about to snip [2] off a good hunk of her hair when I made her hand them to me. It seriously looked like she was ready to cut handfuls of hair out just to get rid of the earring!
“I’ll do it if you’re really serious,” I said.
“Do it,” she nodded, untying the ribbon that she had used to put her hair in its usual half-up position. The long soft hair flowed out from its confines, releasing the floral scent that had been trapped inside the bunched-up hair spread out almost at once.
I froze.
“I’ve untied my hair, so it should be easier to trim it off,” [2] said Makia casually.
“Oh, ah, yes…”
So, I should say this first. The saying that men are vulnerable to the scent of shampoo must be true! That is, I was suddenly overcome by a strange sensation and well, there’s also the strange sight of Makia without her hair being back with a ribbon. She looked more mature…
“Hey, are you planning to do it or not? Should I just cut it myself?”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m definitely fine.”
“Definitely [3]?”
I breathed in deeply and snipped off the bit of hair that was tangled up with the earrings. I was more worried about picking off the hair that was stuck on the back of her neck and ears in front of me.
Just as the thought occurred to me, a piece of hair that had been hanging precariously at her neck fell into a deep valley…
“… …”
Makia casually picked the hair out of her cleavage and flicked it into the trash.
This was not the typical reaction of a young 15-year-old girl. As expected.
In any case, it felt like a sin for a young girl to have breasts that were well-developed to the point that they could catch things on them…
Anyway, the troublesome pair of earrings finally came off. They were small but relatively heavy.
“I can see why these could be hard on your ears.”
“Right? I need to get new ones. Much smaller ones.”
She removed her other earring without too much trouble and placed it on the dresser. Then, she pushed her long, wavy hair away from her face.
I could not help but stare at her.
“Nothing. I was just thinking that you look more and more like the Crimson Witch. All you need now would be the triangular witch’s hat on your head,” I said, drawing a triangle over her head.
“That’s true. When I was the Crimson Witch, I maintained my 17-year-old appearance for hundreds of years. You’re still a long way away from looking like the proper Black Demon King, though.”
“…shut up…” I said.
Makia casually glanced over to the table where the remains of our dinner were left and rang a bell. Servants came in to clear the dishes away.
I had a sudden thought.
What had the previous Black Demon King look like? An adult in his late 20s?
I must have at least looked like a grown man. I don’t remember much after I stopped ageing…
The face that looked back at me from the dressing table mirror was still a youth.
I guess that’s why Makia said that I was still quite far from being Him.
[Gumihou: Well, did my best] [1] Explain ‘yandere’ in the text [2] Adjusted details [3] Here, Makia said ‘why are you using honorifics’ because Tooru suddenly used ‘desu’ but since there’s no English equivalent that could be used quickly, went with something that made sense.
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